The friends of homo-bigot Ken Blackwell

Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, hanging with his homies at the Patriot Pastors and Ohio Restoration Project rally, said Christians must “define, fortify, help shape, influence the mores” of the culture. Photo: Lew Stamp/Akron Beacon Journal

This is so over the top. Repug Ken Blackwell is completely bedding down with the fringe element in Ohio, wrapping himself in the flag, and declaring — I’m not kidding — “Christians should show that they are not going to be whupped.” (Ohio.com):

About 330 Christian faithful rallied at the Hartville Kitchen to sing praises of America, to remind themselves of the dangers of complacency, and to hear gubernatorial candidate J. Kenneth Blackwell preach on God’s call to action.

…A choir and a gospel quartet brought the audience to its feet with praise songs as images of American landmarks, heroes and troops moved across the screens.

Yes, he’s hanging with his homies: Talibangelist Rod Parsley of Reformation Ohio and the man who qualifies as one of the looniest, shameless bible beaters of the week, the above-mentioned Russell Johnson, founder of the Ohio Restoration Project.

Blackwell was a featured guest of Johnson’s 10-city Patriot Pastors tour, which made a stop in the Akron-Canton area on Tuesday, as Ken hopes to sew up the freakshow Right vote in the gubernatorial race.

I have no idea why he would want to associate with someone that sounds like he’s gunning to outdo The Rotting CryptkeeperTM. Read the following without your jaw dropping.

Johnson warned that Christians have allowed a “secular jihad” to remove prayer, the Ten Commandments and the Bible from public places.

He likened it to Nazi Germany, where church congregations would sing so that they could not hear the passing of trainloads of crying Jews headed for a nearby concentration camp.

Too many Christians lead “Neville Chamberlain lives,” Johnson said, referring to the British prime minister who signed a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler. A picture of Hitler and Chamberlain flashed on the screens.

“We’re calling God’s people to pray, to serve, to shine and to be salt and light,” he said.

Johnson criticized the “handful of our religious friends on the left who have formed an unholy alliance with the secular left” to challenge the religious exemption of his organization.

See my earlier post, Group calls for IRS to investigate two winger churches for more on the “unholy alliance” of 31 pastors who wrote a letter asking the IRS to investigate Johnson and Parsley to determine whether their groups have engaged in illegal partisan political activity that would violate their tax-exempt status.

Parsley and Johnson don’t seem like they are shaking in their boots over this, and neither is Blackwell, who is the only candidate that has been invited to these bible-beating PR events. Somehow, they can’t find the phone numbers of any Democrats to contact, but Ken’s on their speed dial.

Blackwell was the only candidate for governor invited to address 450 pastors and Christian conservatives at a luncheon north of Canton sponsored by the Ohio Restoration Project two days after it and several allied religious entities were accused of illegally engaging in partisan politics.

…Johnson said that yesterday’s lunch at the Hartville Kitchen was the fourth of 10 planned meetings across the state by the Ohio Restoration Project to enlist “Patriot Pastors” and register voters who share its values, particularly its opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

He accused the 31 complaining pastors of “spiritual adultery” for aligning with the American Civil Liberties Union, adding: “On the day we celebrated Martin Luther King’s accomplishments as a leader and minister, the religious left sent people to the back of the bus. They wanted to muzzle people of faith.”

Johnson claims that that “every statewide officeholder who supported” a ban same-sex marriage was invited the luncheon, but that’s not the case. Apparently you have to agree with Johnson’s crowd on every winger issue.

A spokesman for state Auditor Betty D. Montgomery, who supported the ban, said Johnson’s group did not invite her.

Asked why, Johnson replied: “She is pro-abortion.”

You know this is a brass knuckles crowd we’re dealing with when the 31 pastors who have requested the IRS investigation won’t release their names because “some have a fear that there could be acts of retribution against them,” according to Eric Williams, the senior pastor of North Congregational United Church of Christ in Columbus and spokesman for the clergy involved.